Thread by @FlickType

It's with a heavy heart today that we're announcing the discontinuation of our award-winning iPhone keyboard for blind users.

Apple has thrown us obstacle after obstacle for years while we try to provide an app to improve people's lives, and we can no longer endure their abuse.

Last week, we submitted an update that fixes various iOS 15-related issues & improves the app for VoiceOver users. No new features, just improvements. No changes to our App Store page either. We were very excited to get this out the door and to the hands of our users!

But Apple rejected it. They incorrectly argue again that our keyboard extension doesn't work without "full access", something they rejected us for THREE years ago. Back then we successfully appealed and overturned their decision, and this hadn't been a problem since. Until now.

We tried reaching out to Apple a total of 9 times last week, with no success. At this point they seem to be ignoring our attempts to contact them directly, despite previously explicitly telling us to "feel free" to contact them if we need "further clarification".

Our rejection history already spans more than FOURTY pages filled with repeated, unwarranted, & unreasonable rejections that serve to frustrate & delay rather than benefit end-users. And dealing with App Review isn't just time-consuming. It's also very emotionally draining.

And this is entirely separate from the technical side, where Apple's 3rd-party keyboard APIs are - quite frankly - terrible. Since 2014 keyboard APIs have been buggy, inconsistent, ever-changing, and broken - particularly when it comes to accessibility features like Direct Touch.

App Review problems & broken APIs isn't even all. The broader relationship Apple has with keyboard developers is hostile, as my decade of relevant experience can confirm. And it's not just my own assessment: the former head of keyboards at Apple has admitted to this hostility.

We've already filed a lawsuit against Apple, in part for denying us access to our customers through the App Store for months. We've also exposed many scam apps that have cost users and our business millions of dollars, while Apple ignored our complaints:

theverge.com/2021/4/21/2238…

We still feel a sense of duty to the accessibility community, so we want to keep the keyboard extension as a TestFlight beta. But Apple has rejected that too. Thus our only remaining long-term option is to provide the container typing app, with a share button to export your text.

We wish to keep providing the last working version that includes the keyboard extension, but Apple makes it impossible to stop automatic updates for individual apps. So unless you stop automatic updates for all your apps, you will soon lose the FlickType keyboard extension.

We will also be requesting that Apple stop featuring our app in the accessibility category. While we are grateful to the App Store editors for previously recognizing our app, we feel it will no longer be appropriate for it to be highlighted for its accessibility benefits.

We want to thank everyone who has supported us over the years, and hope to one day return as a "real" keyboard app on your device - hopefully outside of the App Store. If you want to express your concerns to Apple, please email them at [e-mail].

Thank you,
-Kosta

PS: For anyone wishing to request a refund, Apple doesn't let developers do that either. Instead, you will have to request one from them here: support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084